


Under-Id

by Cesare



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Dreams, Other, Repression, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-23
Updated: 2011-01-23
Packaged: 2017-10-15 00:04:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/154972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cesare/pseuds/Cesare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dom's attitude toward the latest danger they encounter is a little more serious than Eames'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under-Id

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anatsuno](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anatsuno/gifts).



Dom's never seen anything like it. He's paralyzed, agog, he can't-- what if it lashes out at him, what if it _sees_ him-- he's encountered monstrous things in peoples' minds before, but this is his first illegal job, his first time delving into the parts of the subject's mind that are totally primal and uncensored, and he can't... he can't...

Eames strides in, Arthur slipping in just after him and stopping. Dom has the urge to order Arthur back, cover his eyes, anything. Arthur's remarkably composed and competent, but he's still only a couple of years out of grad school, young.

It's too late, though. "Huh," Arthur says, his expression bland. Dom flashes him a look, incredulous.

"Tentacle hentai," says Eames. "How unoriginal."

"Think we can hack and slash through?"

Eames produces a machete and _gets closer to the thing,_ lopping off slimy, wriggling limbs. The mass of appendages contracts, then flourishes, sprouting twice as many tentacles to replace the cut ones.

Arthur checks the air vents and out the windows. "No joy," he says. "Everywhere I look, it starts expanding."

"Now that we've found it, I doubt we'll be easily rid of it," says Eames.

"It's not a bad tactic. Instead of militarizing his projections, they trained him to use this thing for defense." Arthur fires a few bullets into it, without any effect. "Maybe a bucket of salt would melt it. Everything has a vulnerability. Wish I'd read the D&D Monster Manual. Don't suppose you did?"

Eames tsks, and glances over at Dom. Unbelievably, he chuckles. "All right, Cobb?" He shifts his eyes past Dom to Arthur. "He looks like some poor geezer out of Lovecraft. Might be a kindness to shoot him."

"That's not the plan," says Arthur.

"Neither's this," Eames waves the machete negligently toward the growing creature, its hundreds of tentacles gleaming slickly. "Look, it's clearly, _clearly_ inspired by porn, not monster films, or it would've attacked us by now. And frankly this ichor it's dripping with? Smells like baby oil. My guess is, the only way past it is through."

Arthur comes up with salt and tosses it at the beast, then acid. The salt does nothing and the acid burns heal right away.

"Okay," says Arthur, resigned. "Rochambeau for it?"

Eames laughs. "Dom already looks as if he's going to have an aneurysm, let's not horrify him further by making him imagine his protege in the belly of the beast. You can owe me one."

"No offense," Arthur says dryly, "but you're not really the kind of guy I trust to hold my IOU for a round of tentacle sex."

"Fine, you chiseler, I'll do it as a favor. Just get the boss out of here before he goes mental, we don't really have time to kick him for this and get him under again for the next bit," says Eames, undoing the cuffs of his shirt.

"C'mon, Dom," Arthur tugs him from the room, creating a new space for them, Miles' lecture hall. The afternoon sun splashes in through the windows.

It'll provoke the subject's projections, but they've been easy to deal with so far-- all the subject's mental defenses seem to be wrapped up in that... thing.

Dom drops into a chair. "Sorry," he says, his voice sticking.

"No problem," says Arthur with his usual serious ease. "Everybody's got something they can't take meeting in a dark alley."

"Yeah," Dom says. He tries not to wonder what bothers him more: the thing itself, or the feeling that if Eames and Arthur hadn't been with him in the dream, Dom would have walked right into it.


End file.
